TSX Driver....Thanx for those nice words about the SXRD. I must say That a full line of 1080 P LCD's and rear projections are now hitting the local market but I have viewed a few and can only say that they are just not as good as our Sony's.
My HT is full of speakers and receivers as I am looking to add some finishing touches. Check out the situation.
am pretty tired as it has been a long long day but wanted to keep you updated in "real time".
As you know I am no Audiophile and would be hard pressed to find the vocabulary to compare the products I am demoing so please put up with my novice approach.
Firstly.....a few hic ups today. Not enough speaker wire in the truck. They were to bring a spool but they only brought 20 meters when needing 25-30 . ...oh well.....
Bought some speaker brackets from perfect vision which would have been great....but the back of the atoms/titans are a polymer type resin not wood so to drill a hole was not recommended. The ADP 370 surround dipole was also of the same polymer substance on the back so again could not drill( and the bracket that the 370 comes with is not adjustable ...having said that... Never should have bought brackets in the first place as Paradigm provides a swivel bracket mount upon request for both the atom and the titan..DUH! So no worries here. Must order them. Unfortunatley for me the Paradigm supplier is closed till Jan 2 or 3
Unwrap the Onkyo and the black one I ordered turned silver ....no biggy the demo will go on!!!!
Set up the speakers with the Atom as surrounds. The titan is just a bit too big as I feared with my limited head room and space.
Unwrapped the Denon receiver and thought it looked great. Powered it up and the sound was real clean with the few CD's I played.. At 110 watts per channel I thought this baby was about to blow me out of the water but must say....it did not. ( These are CD's that I and family had listened to many a time for many a year.). System sounded real good though. Went on to some movie clips to see how the surrounds would work and they did the trick. Speakers and receiver seemed to go pretty well with each other. Played a live Rock concert on DVD which is crystal clear in respect to quality. Like the 90 watt Denon I auditioned in the paradigm shop I slowly cranked it up to full volume. Was really surprised when the volume indicator stopped moving. I was looking for the additional 10 watts you had recommended to me before). Must also say that on the highest volume the speakers seemed to break up...got muddy...and I was huffing and puffing with what I hoped was Adrenalin. Unfortunately the Adrenalin was really ....well......dissapointment. My son looked at me and said....that didn't sound to good there dad. Asked myself Why were the monitor 7's whimpering out?
Decided to give the Onkyo a try. As soon as I put on the same DVD at low levels I noticed a major difference in the body and tone of the music. Raised the volume higher and higher and as I did the smile on my face got bigger and bigger. Cranked up the music to about 90% which was louder than the Denon at full volume and had no break up or muddy sound. Clear as a bell it was. Cranked up the volume to full and it sounded real good.....no distortion at all. Tossed on the "red hot Chili peppers live at Slain Castle and it was killer. Wife and kids came right out and said the Onkyo was better for them. In my opinuion it was also better for me...big time! Very different than the Denon...much more Alive and open....and more powerful to boot. Proceeded to listen to the same CD's as before of Usher (to test the sub) some rock, and even some pop (Madonna for the wife) and it was all kick Asssss take no prisoners.
Am happy with the Paradigm speakers and am pleased with the Onkyo. The combo to "my ears" seems to be the "REAL DEAL"!
REVIEW OF THE ONKYO 803
Part 1
http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volume_13_2/onkyo-tx-sr803-receiver-6-2006-part-1.htmlPart 2
http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volume_13_2/onkyo-tx-sr803-receiver-6-2006-part-2.htmlPart 3
http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volume_13_2/onkyo-tx-sr803-receiver-6-2006-part-3.htmlDUDE....LET ME WISH YOU A HAPPY NEW YEAR AND LOTS OF FUN WITH YOUR MEGA TOY